James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Priming the painting surface with an abstract color field is a great way to energize a field study done in opaque media.

I like to prime a few pages in my watercolor book with abstract color shapes in casein. If you don’t have casein, you can use tinted gesso or acryla gouache. In this case, the underpainting is a random yellow shape surrounded by a tint of blue, which gives me some colors to build on.

When I arrive at a motif I choose a page with an intriguing priming that fits the subject. In this case, a a cluster of flowers that I'm attracted to resembles the shape of the underpainting.

Sometimes I cover up the underpainting completely with the final gouache or casein, and sometimes I let the priming colors show through, but the priming always influences the painting.

Markmors, I use a book with watercolor paper that is 140lb cotton, and I find it doesn't warp. I hold it flat with clips or the elastic as it's drying and then press it into the book. Watercolor paper has been sized with gelatin so that it's designed to lay flat after taking a wash. It's best not to put any wet washes onto a book with paper that's not made for it.